Showbiz

Cox at helm for science quiz show

Brian Cox is turning questionmaster to host a BBC Two science quiz show.

The particle physicist, who has won acclaim for his various programmes about the universe, will front the panel show Six Degrees Of Separation.

The programme, which the BBC said was still at the pilot stage, will look at the unlikely connections which exist between objects and phenomena.

Panellists will include scientists and figures from the world of entertainment who have an interest in the area, such as comic Dara O'Briain and actor Ben Miller.

The BBC said: "Using their immense knowledge, wit and imagination the six panellists will reveal that the history of science is littered with serendipitous connections and that the Universe is more unexpectedly joined up than we ever imagined."

The first programme will be filmed in front of a studio audience next month but no transmission date has been set for the show.

Former chart star Brian - once a member of the band D:Ream - has co-hosted Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage, and teamed up with Dara in the past to present BBC Two's Stargazing Live.